Life after Tokyo: Follow on project

CLICK LINK FOR FULL VIDEO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSZ7r4jDWeY

Life after Tokyo is good, but it is not exactly Tokyo. On my return flight home, I sat by the window, peaking out every now and then. Each time, I thought about what I had just left behind. The people, the fresh air, the peace, the crapes, and 14 hours of the day hat I would get to have before everyone else back in America.

The time that I spent over there was precious, I couldn't imagine spending a semester abroad anywhere else. I met some wonderful people including my dorm manger, Aki. He was so selfless and humble. He's a person that I will never forget, considering the fact that he came to my rescue my first day in Japan. I often find myself reminiscing and wishing I could go back just for a day. Tokyo inspired me in so many ways, creatively and professionally. I recorded a few songs that were inspired by being aboard, one is titled Jet Setting, and a few others like Nutz is reflected in the sound of the music. Professionally, I have been working on a business plan for an establishment that I would like to open in the future that will be reflective of Japan.

As mentioned previously, I had the privilege of sitting in the window seat. As we passed over the oceans and grassy areas, I though about other places I would like to visit, such as Paris, Bermuda and Australia. I always wanted to go to Paris, but I met some people from Bermuda and Australia while in Japan; their accents blew me away. So I have added these to places to my list of places to visit. I've even considered working for the Department of State upon graduation, just so that I may have the opportunity to travel. Japan opened my eyes to see that there is more to the world than the one I'm content with living in.

During the duration of my study abroad program in Tokyo, Japan, I took to two courses that were related to my field of study, tv/film. These courses included Cybermedia and Tokyo Stories. In my Cybermedia course we explored Second Life, a virtual world that exists beyond many peoples knowledge.We created our own avaitars and explored the virtual world with one question in mind, "How can we determine the future of the music industry?" Within Second Life various aspects of the music industry existed. Aspiring artists could easily book a space, playing live from their home and could stream their music live (real time) over the internet and share it with all those in the avatar world. Record Labels even existed in this virtual world, you can buy instruments, Dj equipment, and actually DJ from your home and stream the music. This was an experience that I don't think I would have stumbled upon on my own. It really makes think that music industry can and will survive on the internet, despite the threats of illegal downloads and piracy. In my Tokyo Stories class, we prepared to make a documentary of our own. This was my first real project. I had to set up interviews, recorded video, checked levels on the mics, produce and edit the piece. It was truly a learning experience. When It came time to interview, I really didn't know what I was doing, but I refused to let it show. My documentary was about Hip Hop In Japan. I covered its origin, its influence and the different styles that it entailed. You all will be able to see how it turned out in my follow up project. In all this abroad experience has expanded my mind, some of the things that i learned and experienced has shaped the way at look at things. This experience alone has made me want to see more of the rest of the world after graduation.. I am fortunate and appreciative to have been a recipient of the Gilman Scholarship because if it wasn't for the award I would have missed out on this opportunity. For that I am very grateful.

My Follow on project includes this blog ,Memoirs of Lu Lu B, a video entitled Memoirs of Lu Lu B. Originally, I was going to title my follow on project, Project out of the Box, however Memoirs of Lu Lu B. came to me while in Japan, and since I was blogging about my experience, I felt that the title better suited my blog. Lu Lu B. stands for Lu Lu Bichon, which is my alias Memoirs of Lu Lu B includes, pictures, audio and video clips of my most cherished memories, so that my peers at Clark Atlanta University could get a glimpse of what it would be like to study abroad. I am scheduled to speak at an upcoming study abroad session in November, which I will be presenting my blog.

Somber but sound

I shed a tear today. It really hit me that Im leaving tomorrow. These familiar faces that were once unfamiliar will soon be unfamiliar again. The most thing I will miss is the air, a true refresher.

Studio Session

Spent my Last nite in Tokyo spent doing what i love the most.  Studio with DJ Cap...electro and awesome rhymes...success i coming for u.

Dinner with DJ Cap

Very interesting, we were accompanied by his australian friend, talking about music and stuff like that.

Oh yea I had swordfish sushi today.....uhhhhhh yay...dont know about that one. 

Smacked episode FUNNY!

FInal Self Evaluation/Critique

Topical history involves recording information about a specific subject, such as an interview with someone about the history of a workplace or occupation. I took this approach in developing my final project titled, Hip Hop in Japan. Through the interviews that I conducted, I was able to present the history behind the emergence of Hip Hop in Japan.

In choosing the subject matter for my project, I had initially planned on documenting the many faces of Disc Jockeys aka DJs, including on air DJ’s, club Dj’s, scratch DJ’s and mixtape DJ’s. One of the reasons that I wanted to document DJ’s was because I felt that their roles in music were taking for granted. In my opinion deejaying is an art form just as much as being a musician is. In all reality, DJ’s are the ones who play the music first, exposing an artist’s music to the masses. DJ’s have to entertain and interact with the crowd just as much as the artist does. Ultimately, I wanted to show all of the above in my work, while at the same time giving my audience a brief history about how the art form made is way to Japan. I would later have to change up how I would present this after I found my interviews, to be filled with information that I was not quite looking for.

To find the subjects for my documentary I logged onto YouTube and searched DJ ‘s in Tokyo. Several Dj’s popped up. I messaged about 6 DJ’s summarizing what my vision for the documentary was and how I would like to have them in it. The message looked something like this:

Hello, DJ(….) how's it going...Do you DJ in Tokyo? if so are you interested in being the subject of a documentary illustrating what it is like to be a DJ in Tokyo? if you are interested please let me know at your earliest convenience as i would like to meet with you as soon as possible.

Thank You for your time,

Danielle Johnson.

Out of the 6 DJ’s I message I would say that I got about two responses. Ready to work I decided to meet up with whoever responded first. Being that this was my first time ever doing a big project like this, I was hell bent on not letting it show to my interviewees. I set up dates and times for us to meet based off their schedules. I had no phone, so we stayed in contact with one another through email. Each time we were scheduled to meet, we met up at hachiko outside of Shibuya Station. Before interviewing each of my subjects I set up a day just to talk with them and further explain what it I was trying to do with my project. I asked them questions about themselves and couple of questions that I would ask when it was time to record. I took notes and when it was finally time to record I used those notes to conduct the on camera interview. In collecting my b-roll I used both the PD150 and the small Sony HD camera. PD150 was used mostly for the interviews and the Sony HD camera was used for club footage since it was small enough to carry around with me.

Once I finally had all my footage, it was time to edit and that was the most difficult part I must say. My interviews ended up going in a totally different direction than what I had anticipated. My subjects discussed hip hop more than anything, and with time running out I had no choice but to work with the interviews. My b-roll was also flooded with the Hip Hop in Japan. Now, I was no longer focusing on DJ’s, rather I would be focusing on the hip hop scene in Japan.

For a long time I was stumped on infiltrating the structure and due to my lack of experience everything it was a little overwhelming. I had to sit down several times and look at my footage over and over. I came to the conclusion that I wanted to combine information that could tell the story of hip hop’s emergence in Japan from its very beginnings to what is today. I wanted to put together a story that would appeal to hip hop fans outside of Japan, as if I were their inside man. From here I started putting together a timeline based off my interviewees sound bites. I chose DJ Cap to be placed first because his interview gave insight to the beginning of hip hop’s emergence starting in the late 80’ s. From there everything fell into place. Besides video I used other mediums such as pictures and music. I did a little narration and I added a map of New York and Tokyo to introduce my audience to the project. I also used subtitles to narrate the story. I added background music as a finishing touch to keep my audience interested and entertained.

I came across a few difficulties in finalizing my topical history piece. One came about in conducting my interview. I didn’t realize it, until till I was ready to edit in post-production. In one of my interviews the levels were extremely low. I thought everything was fine, when I was recording it, but the truth of the matter was, that I had set up the wireless mics all wrong. I was worried because I wasn’t sure, if I was going to be able to get my subject to willing do another interview, but luckily they had no problem doing so. I also found it hard sometimes to communicate exactly what I was trying to ask. Although my subjects could speak English, there was still somewhat of a language barrier. At times they really couldn’t understand my question and they would give me an answer that really had nothing to do with what I was asking in the first place. That was a little frustrating. The most frustration though came from editing. I found post-production to be very overwhelming. Although I had made a log sheet, I just didn’t know where to begin. I just felt like I had way to much footage, compared to the actual length that my final work needed to be. Another thing that I had trouble with was organizing all my footage. I went through several clips looking for just the right ones that could paint the picture that I was trying to portray. The hardest part of the organization for me was the end/conclusion, because I didn’t want it to end abruptly nor did I want it to be out of sync with the rest of the documentary.

There are couple of things that I would change or go about differently now that I look back on it. For one, I would have definitely changed the location of my interview with DJ Flourish. The background music was distracting, especially since there wasn’t any background music in my other interview. I also could have played some Japanese Hip Hop music as the background instead of the instrumentals. I think that it would have made it more authentic. There were times that in my conversations with my interviewees the cameras were not rolling. I know that in the future I should keep the cameras rolling until I run out of tape. There were a lot of things that I wish I could have put in there that were not recorded. Also organization, I wasn’t necessarily all over the place but I could have been a little bit more organized. For example, I was ignorant to the fact that when recording a-roll and b-roll they should be on separate tapes. If knew this at the time, logging and editing would have went a lot smoother. Also in the case of my interviews, I would have started way earlier, just for the simple fact that things wouldn’t seem so rushed. Other than these few things I wouldn’t change anything else I was pretty much pleased with the end result for it being my first topical history. I’ve learned a lot from this experience, and now I have more confidence that I am capable of producing more works such as Hip Hop in Japan.

The start of Hanami

Hanami is the Japanese word for flower viewing. Each year, when the sakura (cherry trees) bloom, Japanese people gather in parks to enjoy the beautiful flowers. Most of the time, parties are held under the cover of the trees. Depending on the area, the trees bloom from mid-January in Kyushu as late as mid-May in Hokkaido. As sakura flowers bloom and fall in a span of about one or two weeks, good flower viewing spots are really popular. Offices often send one of their employees really early in the morning to take a good spot; these people will spend their whole day waiting outside, sitting until the evening on their huge blue tarp to make sure nobody takes their place. From big corporation to kindergartens, everyone enjoys flower viewing parties and everyone tries to get the best spot.

Editing GRRRRR

Frustrating, I neva even attempted editing something of this duration. Editing caused me to miss out on henami, and a couple of other fun things going on during the cherry blossom festival.

"Excuse me sir please carry silent conversation around here".

These were the words a bold Japaneses woman who was eager to practice her english...no disrespect.

Its been nice outside lately so me and one of my friends decided that well do neighborhood walks every night till we leave. At night the streests are very quiet and peaceful, unless some unruly genjings have something to do with it. Although i consider my voice to be very low, my frined on the other hand is not, he talks loud ALL THE TIME. So were talking about how life is from our perspective country's and this lady walks over to us from nowhere. At first we thought she was going to ask for a cigarette or a lighter or something along those lines, but instead she said, Excuse me sir please carry silent conversation around here. We were taking a back by what she said and at the same time we had nothing but respect for her. We just couldnt believe she said that. We laughed about it and refered to it that whole night as we did our neighborhood walk. We even got lost after walking for 3hrs. We had no idea 3hrs had passed. We thought we were circling our neighborhood or at least in its proximity. Everything looked the same. Once we realized we were lost we asked a couple of ppl how to get back to ontakesan and they laughed at us, cus we told them we were going to walk. They kept saying something in Japanese and then Taxi...and sure nuff we ended up taking a taxi home. It came to a grand total off 1340yen.

Sunshine City: Harajuku:Earth Day and Shark Fin Ice Cream

Saw the MANEQUIN again in harajuku this time he was wearing pink spandex and filliping up in down the streets of Harajuku, drawing a crowd

Earth Day was a suprise had no clue it was earthday. We stumble upon some interesting Feats at Yoyoggi

Shark FIn CUz the words of Oj da juice

YEs shark fin ice cream...tasted::::interesting:::: There all kinds of ice cream there, matter of fact this place is know for it. some of it include snake, cavaiar, curry, chicken...all types and they all had pieces of the stuff in it...lol.

An cool lil place in sunshine city...cant even explain it, it was so cool, almost reminded me of a childrens musuem but with out the toys. It was tons of fun...IM so mad my camera died at this point.

FInish Editing: YES!

Da Da Da DUUUUUUHHHHHH

Documentary Completed.

The realest High: Metropolitatin Building in Shinkju

Pics

Me Time

Me Time is essential for personal growth and in a place  thousands and thousands of miles away for home it is very important. Today I exercised this after a very long exam. I took a  trip to roppingi and had dinner with no other than myself. It was beautiful moment, I had time to let good thoughts penetrate my mind and bad thoughts exit as I came to the realization that today marked the beginning of my last week in Tokyo. 

Exhibition in Harajuku

What is an artist? Let's define it shall we...

An artist a person whose work exhibits exceptional skill. Today after slaving for weeks two of my biggest projetcts were exhibited in Tokyo, right in the heart of Harajuku. My Docuementary, titled Hip H0p in Japan and my Second Life piece titled, Is there room for independant artists in the industry? were both displayed in Design Fiesta. An artist i must say I am

MY 21st.

Bday Luv From Friends and the DJ

Artists Statement Revised

Hip Hop in Japan is a documentary, exploring Hip Hop's origins in Japan. This musical genre of lyrical rhymes and drums and hi- hats began in the late 70's in the urban boroughs of New York City. This quickly emerging sound would carry with it four elements which include, emcees, graffiti artists, break-dancers and DJ's. In Hip Hop in Japan, I had the pleasure of interviewing two well established  DJ's from Tokyo. They share with me their experiences with Hip Hop and the scene that it carries. Throughout the interview they share several stories, about their experience and they allowed me to follow them for one night to see the hip hop scene for myself. In essence, this documentary gives my audience insight to a culture adopted and adored by the Japanese.

Hip Hop In Japan incorporates, three mediums, video audio and pictures. With video I wanted to capture my interviewees personalities. Their personalities were essential to presenting this piece. Both interviewees moved the story along, from describing hip hop's begiggings  to what its like now. Audio was essential to keeping my audience interested, that is why I added background music to my piece. The pictures were used as b-roll to give my audience an idea of who my interviewees were referring to.

This documentary gives hip hop fans all across the world an idea about how the hip hop scene is in Japan.  By watching this, my audience will see how  what started out as a imitation, as expressed in the interviews, became something that Japanese people love and have made their own. 

Day 4 Editing

OMG Editing is no joke. Im starting out in imovie then moving to final cut. I tried to work in final cut today but it was blowing me. FRUSTRATION! Oh the Aganogy and PAIN! I just need to get this out the way. Stressed out!

NEVA SAW MY LIFE FLASH BEFORE MY EYES!

Until today...I was almost run over by a bike all jokes a side..The Japanese are know for riding bikes everywhere...it is nuthin to them.

This guy on the bike was coming full speed at me on my right side. I had to think fast. My heart practically jumped out my chest. no B.S. LOL. 

On another note Im sick as dawG...(BOO)..I jus hope excuse me pray that i get better by my BDAY!

Day Three of Shoot

Today Interviewed DJ Cap again. His levels were too low from the previous recording. Im pretty confident that I got some good audio this time.

Besides that Dj Cap  listened to my musik and really likes it. He has a couple of connects in the music scene in Japan. Let's just say they love me. Lu Lu Bichon careers starts........NOW!

Jam Session

Dj cap one of my interviewees for my documentary, inivited me to a a lil jam session. It was preettyy cool...I have video of him fooling around he's funny. I joined in on the jam session i dont have video of that thought. I was nervous as hell, but I did it that's all I have to say.

After the jam session we all got a beer and parted ways. The area we were in is known as a place where artists/creative people live work and play. Its called Sugenami...accesible by Koneji train station. It also had a couple of nice clothing shops.

Here's video of Cap fooling around the song is titled DANIELLE! lol

HOMe Sickness Kickin In! Pt.2

Again today I found myself wanting to go home. Its just so close the end of the semester. Im catching the junioritis. I'm tired of the 40minute commute to and from school. I just wana come home to home cooked meal waiting for me. I know I sound like  a brat, but that's how I feel. As far as the music tip it doesn't help that I have writer's bloc. Just a lil stressed. Time to WU SAH!!!

I just miss all the people I love. I was on the train on my way home just thinking, bout how I much I miss them. I didn't see no familar faces, no one who looked like me, don't get me wrong I luv the Japanese, but unlike me their family is within their grasps. I got one more month..I know ima be good rest assure. Rest assure. 

BUT THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME!

Day two of Shoot

Today I went back to Shibuya Fm to get an interview with DJ Cap. Today i did more lateral work with the camera. I felt like i had better control of the camera today. 

MEDIA TAKEOVA real soon..Music, Movies, tv, radio, books...u name it. SM

Bored

Messing around wit iphoto.. who needs photoshop...sike i still need it but seriously u can add some nice effects to photos in iphoto.

Home Sickness Kickin In!

I want my Mommie, my Daddy, my Grandma, my Cusso and my lil Sista! My Car, My Room, My BED!!!! I miss my friends, I miss DC and ATL! :(

Famous INFJs

These famous people have the same characteristics as me. Im surprised to see Jamie Foxx's name on here. R.I.P. MLK. Im trying to be GREAT like you.

U.S. Presidents:

Martin Van Buren

James Earl "Jimmy" Carter

Nathaniel Hawthorne
Fanny Crosby, (blind) hymnist
Mother Teresa of Calcutta
Fred McMurray (My Three Sons)
Shirley Temple Black, child actor, ambassador
Martin Luther King, Jr., civil rights leader, martyr
James Reston, newspaper reporter
Shirley MacLaine (Sweet Charity, ...)
Piers Anthony, author ("Xanth" series)
Michael Landon (Little House on the Prairie)
Tom Selleck
John Katz, critic, author
Paul Stookey (Peter, Paul and Mary)
U. S. Senator Carol Moseley-Braun (D-IL)
Billy Crystal
Garry Trudeau (Doonesbury)
Nelson Mandela
Mel Gibson
Carrie Fisher
Nicole Kidman
Jerry Seinfeld
Jamie Foxx
Sela Ward
Mark Harmon
Gary Dourdan
Marg Helgaberger
Evangeline Lilly
Tori May

UNIQ LO

UNiQ LO is a company Originally Branded in Tokyo. It is like the H&M of Tokyo. I went there today to grab a few items. 

GOOD PRICES!

Here's something I put together I was bored.

Jung Typology Test

A friend of mine forwarded this test to me. It asked about 70 question and from it the following came about.

You are:

• distinctively expressed introvert
  
• distinctively expressed intuitive personality
  
• moderately expressed feeling personality
  
• slightly expressed judging personality

Its pretty accurate I think.

My Type is Introverted iNtuiting Feeling Judging

Further Analysis shows the following

INFJs are distinguished by both their complexity of character and the unusual range and depth of their talents. Strongly humanitarian in outlook, INFJs tend to be idealists, and because of their J preference for closure and completion, they are generally "doers" as well as dreamers. This rare combination of vision and practicality often results in INFJs taking a disproportionate amount of responsibility in the various causes to which so many of them seem to be drawn.

Why I'm MisUnderstood

INFJs are true introverts, who can only be emotionally intimate and fulfilled with a chosen few from among their long-term friends, family, or obvious "soul mates." While instinctively courting the personal and organizational demands continually made upon them by others, at intervals INFJs will suddenly withdraw into themselves, sometimes shutting out even their intimates. This apparent paradox is a necessary escape valve for them, providing both time to rebuild their depleted resources and a filter to prevent the emotional overload to which they are so susceptible as inherent "givers." As a pattern of behavior, it is perhaps the most confusing aspect of the enigmatic INFJ character to outsiders, and hence the most often misunderstood

Good Ol Intuition

Due in part to the unique perspective produced by this alternation between detachment and involvement in the lives of the people around them, INFJs may well have the clearest insights of all the types into the motivations of others, for good and for evil. The most important contributing factor to this uncanny gift, however, are the empathic abilities often found in Fs, which seem to be especially heightened in the INFJ type (possibly by the dominance of the introverted N function).

Empathetic

This empathy can serve as a classic example of the two-edged nature of certain INFJ talents, as it can be strong enough to cause discomfort or pain in negative or stressful situations. More explicit inner conflicts are also not uncommon in INFJs; it is possible to speculate that the causes for some of these may lie in the specific combinations of preferences which define this complex type. For instance, there can sometimes be a "tug-of-war" between NF vision and idealism and the J practicality that urges compromise for the sake of achieving the highest priority goals. And the I and J combination, while perhaps enhancing self-awareness, may make it difficult for INFJs to articulate their deepest and most convoluted feelings.

Why I'm Creative

Usually self-expression comes more easily to INFJs on paper, as they tend to have strong writing skills. Many INFJs perceive themselves at a disadvantage when dealing with the mystique and formality of "hard logic", and in academic terms this may cause a tendency to gravitate towards the liberal arts rather than the sciences

First day of Documentary shoot.

Today myself and my Assistant Director as he would like to be called filmed at Shibuya FM 78.4  in Tokyo. It was an interesting experience. I felt very professional. I recorded Dj flourish live as he spun records for the radio show. DJ Cap is the host of  the show and they broadcast every thursday from 6pm-8pm. I even made a special guest appearance on air. Surprisingly censorship is not an issue on the radio here in Japan. The time went by so fast that I didn't even notice. 

Dj Cap and Dj flourish are cool peoples very cool. They were very supportive and they helped me out alot. Later that night we met up again to shoot some DJ's and get some footage from the clubs. Dj Cap and DJ Flourish pulled a lot of connects and got me and my AD in the clubs without a hassel. I had a press pass and everything. Some of the clubs included Club P, Club Asia, and Club Veunos. This particular night there was a special event going on with all the DJ's in Tokyo, perfect timing. With this event club goers paid a cover charge of 4000 yen to get into 11 different clubs. Yea 11! You could walk in and out of any one you want. I met several DJ's, Japanese Rappers, and Promoters. It was an incredible seen to watch. 

At the end of this documentary, I can tell that DJ Flourish and DJ Cap and I are going to have a good relationship. They just like to have a good time. DJ Cap will be Deejaying at club Asia on my birthday, my 21st!. And he's going to make sure I have a good time I can't wait.

When this documentray is completed I want my audience to see how dynamic DJ's are In Tokyo Japan.  

Here's some footage of some footage

The Coin BAR

This place's vibe is amazing and drinks are only 315. Yes three 15 all of them.  You can even get very small appetizers for a very low price. You meet a lot of foreigners and locals here that are willing to talk to you.

I have a couple of interesting encounters with a Canadian guy who couldn't stop talking and Japanese girl who insisted on telling me several times how beautiful I was. I was a lil uncomfortable, but I realized she was just being nice and wanted to be my friend.

Overall this place is nice and you definitely feel welcomed by everyone.

Mannequin or MAN?

Both! MAN EQUIN

CRAPE FACE

Harajuku is known for its fashion sense and taste.

Well You can also find tasty treats scattered trough out Harajuku.  They are called CREPES (pronounced CRAPES) the best thing known to wo-mankind.

YUMMY!